A Quick BFCM Checklist for eCommerce Store Owners
With only four weeks to go until Black Friday, it’s time to start counting down the days! Whilst it may feel like a panic, you’ve still got a little bit of time to get things in order. We’ve put together a Quick BFCM Checklist for eCommerce Store Owners, to help you get organised!
This checklist will be divided into the following sections:
- Marketing
- Efficiency
- Packaging
- Loyalty
Marketing
If you don’t make use of appropriate marketing techniques and networks, people won’t know about the products you’re selling or what offers you’ll have running for BFCM.
You’ll be able to tick marketing off the list, if you’ve done the following:
- Created appropriate email marketing campaigns.
- Created ads (Popular channels include Google and Facebook).
- Partnered with other brands to increase awareness and reach – affiliate marketing.
- Shared a sneak peak of what you’ll be offering on your social media pages.
Efficiency
When it comes to Black Friday, it’s all about efficiency! There are often orders coming in from all angles, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lack efficiency in managing the process. This is extremely important, because the more efficient you are, the more orders you can get out!
Some key things you need to keep in mind to remain efficient for Black Friday include:
- Having excellent customer service.
- Make sure you have briefed your staff on the entire BFCM ordering process.
- Install third party apps to take the pressure off. Email workflow apps like Omnisend or Live chat apps will help you considerably!
- Ensure you create a workflow email campaign, where emails are sent to customers throughout their online shopping experience. (Order confirmation, Payment Confirmation, Order Fulfilment etc.)
- Ensure your eCommerce store is running as it should. Perform the correct testing of your store beforehand.
- If you list your products on multiple channels, ensure your product feeds are optimised.
Packaging
It goes without saying that this is an area of eCommerce you’re going to need to be super efficient in, to make sure those order fly out as fast as they fly in. Furthermore, packaging has evolved into much more than just packing an order into a simple corrugated box. Nowadays, it’s all about the unboxing experience and attention to detail with packaging for customers. It’s therefore so important to maintain a balance between being practical and personalised.
To make sure you’re ready for packing all those orders throughout BFCM, make sure to include the following on your packaging checklist:
- Relevant box sizes
- Customized boxes/packaging for the festive season
- Protective packaging and fillers
- Tapes
- Customized thank you notes
- Courier bags
Loyalty
You’re probably not going to have a problem with receiving orders throughout BFCM, but the real challenge will be maintaining these new customers. It’s important to implement a plan on how you’re going to keep these new customers coming back for more.
Here are a few things you can include on your checklist to make sure you’re attracting loyal customers:
- Implement a loyalty program (such as a points system, or discount code when they purchase a certain product)
- Send follow up emails and check in regularly.
- Prioritize your customer service.
- Make use of email workflow campaigns and live chat on your store to assist customers whilst they shop.
Conclusion
Although Black Friday may be just around the corner, you’ve still got a little more time to prepare. We’ve put together a Quick BFCM Checklist for eCommerce store owners, to help you get organised!
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